Inquiries: a hard pull of your credit report from a creditor when you apply for credit.

Public Records and Collection Accounts: including information that has been collected from debt collection agencies and court systems. Also includes reports on liens or judgments, foreclosures, bankruptcies, wage attachments, and accounts in collection. Court records included in this section can include divorce, which is usually considered a negative by lending institutions.

Consumer Statements: you may add a statement to your credit report explaining certain adverse situations appearing on their credit report including ID Theft. These statements are seldom considered in financial transactions and have no effect on an individual’s credit score.

Credit score: which rates your overall risk. This number ranges from 340 to 850, with higher numbers the less risky you appear to a lender.

If anything in your report is incorrect, inaccurate, appearing to show as ‘late’ or ‘missed payment’, be sure to address that immediately. Also if you see that an inquiry is posted on your report that you did not initiate contact the creditor requesting proof of your signature. It’s always a good idea as well to submit a consumer statement. Especially if you are asking for forgiveness from other lenders after a judgement, bk, repossession, etc.

Below are the addresses for the bureaus, be sure you include all of the required documents in order to speed up the investigation process.